Cap for cap spinning machines



1, 1934. P. s. wlLcox 1,969,441

CAP FOR CAP SPINNING MACHINES Filed July 9., 1952 gnmmtou Perle SWilcox, I M15 M r /fmw'w Patented Aug. 7, 1934 CAP FOR CAP SPINNING MACHINES Perley S. Wilcox, Kingsport, Tenn, assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 9, 1932, Serial N0. 621,673

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of artificial silk thread or yarn, and particularly to the caps which are used in twisting and winding the yarn.

One object of my invention is to provide a cap with a means for protecting the yarn or thread against breakage, particularly during high speed winding operations. Another object of my invention is to provide a cap with a pair of spaced 0 flanges toward one end so located that the thread is not retarded by suction or air currents surrounding the cap as it balloons about the cap. Another object of my invention is to provide a cap which is suitably shaped to facilitate high speed winding operations and other objects will appear from the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the claims at the end thereof.

Coming now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denote like parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a fragmentary view of a cap spinning machine equipped with a cap constructed in accordance with and illustrating a preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the cap shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing the flange arrangement of the cap illustrated in the preceding figures insection.

The spinning cap as conventionally used is a straight, tubular member open at the bottom and being connected at the top to a spindle rod. In such caps the thread balloons around the cap at high speed and appears to be drawn by suction against the outside of the cap for approximately an inch or two above the bottom of the cap. This clinging action of the thread against the bottom of the cap while it is ballooning at high speed causes injury to the thread by breaking some filaments and at times breaking the entire thread.

Just why the suction or air currents tend to cause the ballooning thread to approach and adhereto the lower edge of a cap while spinning is not definitely known-and it is difficult to advance any accurate theories as to the action of air currents and other elements which enter into the movement of the thread while moving at such a high speed.

I am not, therefore, advancing any particular theory, for the results which are obtained by my invention will be hereinafter fully described, but I have found through long experimentation that I can overcome the usual cap spinning difficulties and eliminate the clinging of the filaments to the cap and the breaking of the filaments and indicated at 4, the diameter gradually increasing thread while ballooning at high speed against the bottom of the cap by providing annular flanges on the cap against which the thread may contact either during the entire spinning operation or during the start and finish of such operations as the bobbin is rotating to and from its normal winding speed.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a cap designated broadly as 1 which may be supported by means of a bearing 2 on the usual stationary spindle rod 3. This rod is well known in the art and is supported by a stationary part of the machine not shown in the drawing. The cap preferably tapers outwardly from the bearing 3 as over an area 5 until it reaches the diameter 6 of the body portion which is preferably substantially cylindrical in shape.

At the bottom of the cylindrical body 6, I provide a flange by flaring outwardly the bottom edge 7. This may be done by a spinning or other operation. Spaced from the outwardly flared end 7: is an annular flange 8 which may be shrunk on the cylindrical member 6 or otherwise fastened in place thereon.v This flange is an annular memher having a relatively wide base 9 contacting with the walls of the cylindrical member 6 and tapering outwardly to a'smooth, rounded edge 10. I find that the shape shown is one of the most useful shapes, perhaps, because it presents a smooth surface to any air currents which may be set up by means of the ballooning yarn Y. The outwardly flared flange 7 also terminates in a smoothly rounded edge 11.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the thread Y is drawn 9 through a guide 12 of the usual type and balloons at 13 about the cap 1, the lower edge of which 11 directs the yarn onto a bobbin of the usual type indicated at 14. The yarn may, as indicated a t'15 and 16, contact with the rounded edges 10 and 11 of the spaced yarn guarding flanges. This contact may vary during the winding operation to such an extent that the yarn may only contact with the edge 11, but, in any event, the flange 1O prevents the balloon from moving inwardly and clinging to the cylindrical wall 6, although I find that this is accomplished much better where the lower edge of cap 1 is flared outwardly as shown at 11. Apparently, these two flanges cause the ballooning thread to 105 swing out at the bottom away from the cap 1 and to prevent the formation of air currents which cause the objectionable clinging.

The bobbin 14 may be of the usual type having an upper flange 17 and a lower flange 18, the 11 .does not pr cylindrical 2 latter being engaged by key 19 which may be turned at high speed by means of a pulley 20 and belt 21 in the usual manner. There is a traverse bar 22 as is well known in the art for moving the bobbin up and down so that the lower edge of the cap 11 may direct the yarn in smooth convolutions upon the bobbin 14. The construction or the bobbin and support and the means for rotating it are all well known in the art and form no part of my invention.

While experiments have shown that the location and size of the flanges on the bottom of the cap are not critical, the best results can be obtained with these members shown approximately in the position and proportion indicated in the drawing. The outwardly flared bottom 'I may extend, only a short distance beyond the normal diameter of the cylindrical portion 6 of the cap. The flange 8 may be approximately one-half inch larger in diameter than the outside of the cap, although, of course, this dimension may vary, particularly if the size oi! the caps are varied.

Apparently, the omission of either outwardly flared portion '7 or the flange 8 greatly reduces the efflciency oi the cap, since the two flanges, as above described, tend to cause the ballooning yarn to bridge across at an angle to the cylindrical wall 6 o! thecontainer and this seems to have some iunction which reduces the air currents which otherwise would permit the yarn to cling to the bottom oi! the cap.

By outwardly flaring the bottom of the cap, as indicated at 7, without including the flange 8 oduce the desired results, as the yarn will still cling to the outer wall otthe cap under certain conditions. By providing the two spaced flanges near the bottom of the cap, I have entirely eliminated the usual diflicultles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the-United States is:

y 1. A cap for a capspinning machine including a body member tapering in to a bearing at one end and having a substantially cylindrical body, an outwardly flared rounded edge on the end 0! the body spacedirom the bearing and means including a flange spaced from the outwardly flared edge tor preventing yarn from clinging to said body, said flange comprising an annular member having a base contacting with the cylindrical body and tapering outwardly to a relatively thin, smooth, rounded edge.

2. A cap for a cap spinning machine including a body member tapering into a bearing at one end and having a substantially cylindrical body, an outwardly flared rounded edge on the end of the body spaced from the bearing and means including a flange spaced from the outwardly flared edge a distance not greater than one-tenth of the length of said cap for preventing yarn from clinging to said cylindrical cap, said flange comprising an annular member carried by the cylindrical body and tapering outwardly to a relatively thin smooth rounded edge.

3. In a cap for a cap spinning machine including a body member substantially cylindrical in shape having a tapered end for a bearing at one end and having an outwardly flaring flange at the other end and constituting a flrst flange, a second annular flange carried by the cap spaced close to the outwardly flaring first flange, both of said flanges having smoothly rounded edges adapted to form the sole contact portions on the cap for yarn ballooning around the cap, the second of said flanges being of greater diameter than the outwardly flared flrst flange, the rounded edges vo! the two flanges being so positioned and arranged on one end or the cap that yarn contacting with the rounded edges may balloon out around the cap without contact with any other portion of the cap than the two rounded edges of the flanges.

4. A cap for cap spinning machines including a body member tapering into a bearing at one end and having a substantially cylindrical body, an outwardly flared rounded edge on the end oi. the body spaced from the bearing and constituting a flrst flange, said rounded edge being of slightl I greater diameter than the diameter of the cy indrical body, a second flange carried by said cylindrical body of greater diameter than the flrst flange and spaced from said flrst flange a distance not greater than one-tenth of the length of the cap, the flrst and second flanges constituting together a means across which yarn may balloon whereby the sole contact of the yarn with the cap may be upon the two annular flanged members carried by the cap near one end thereof. I

PERLEY S. WILCOX/ 

